grace period

noun

: a period of time beyond a due date during which a financial obligation may be met without penalty or cancellation

Examples of grace period in a Sentence

The terms of the loan allow for a ten-day grace period.

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump earlier this month suggested that the industry could face levies of up to 200%, with a brief 12-18 month grace period to allow firms to relocate manufacturing stateside. —Karen Gilchrist, CNBC, 22 July 2025

In 2025, Masterson also oversaw the repeal of the three-day grace period for late-arriving mail ballots and helped place a constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot asking voters to switch to directly electing Kansas Supreme Court justices. —Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 July 2025

Since then, the upgrade’s been entirely optional but that grace period is now coming to an end. —Paul Lamkin, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

For example, Electrify America charges 40 cents per minute after a 10-minute grace period, Tesla charges 50 cents per minute for idling, and $1 per minute during peak usage times. —Mark Maynard, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grace period

• myriad
• photoperiod

Legal Definition

grace period

noun

grace pe·​ri·​od

: a period of time beyond a scheduled date during which a required action (as payment of an obligation) may be taken without incurring the ordinarily resulting adverse consequences (as penalty or cancellation): as

a

: a period of 30 days or one month during which premiums on insurance policies may be paid without penalty

b

: a period of ten days during which certain security interests (as those in fixtures) must be perfected in order to have priority over conflicting security interests under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code

called also days of grace